THE SECOND NATURE STORY

Adam Tedeschi developed a love of being outdoors and working with plants during his summers spent as an employee at a perennial farm. Later, at Wesleyan University's Long Lane Farm, he discovered the world of vegetable production and the satisfaction of growing his own food. Realizing that his future resided in growing vegetables, Adam set out after graduation to work on farms in Iceland, Norway, and Vermont - if he could learn how to farm in the arctic circle (he thought), then farming in Massachusetts should be a breeze.

Months after returning from his journey, Adam began Second Nature Farm in April of 2009 on 1/3 acre in Norton, MA. With three hand-tools, a wheelbarrow, and a heap of blissful ignorance, Adam dove headfirst into the vocation of growing vegetables for market and CSA. Though there were plenty of painful mistakes the first year, there were also many successes, and each one became further motivation to continue learning.

In 2012, vegetable demand had outgrown the 1/3 acre micro-farm’s capacity, and so the farm moved across town to a 3-acre plot. The transition was exciting and petrifying: up-sizing to 3 acres required a full-time crew and tractor, which in turn meant that the farm’s success relied on more than merely knowing how to grow vegetables. Each year Adam and the crew have continued to gain knowledge and chart their progress though the decreasing amount of weeds.

Though the tools have changed over the years, the appreciation for feeding himself and others the best quality produce remains the same. Eight years after sowing its first seed, Second Nature Farm operates a 150-member CSA and attends Saturday farmers’ markets in Hingham and Braintree.